NYE: Three globally inspired menus to welcome 2021. Food travel from a Tamalada party to Soba in sweatpants!

We’re just a couple of days away from saying hello to a new year (yay!) and we have decided to ring it in Taste Journey style with a bit of food travel.  If you’re looking for some ideas on how to make your at-home celebration a bit more original I have put together three different NYE “traveling” food plans that can be executed individually or all together if you’re looking to occupy yourselves straight through to midnight!  

In the spirit of recognizing that there are many moods and situations this NYE I have the “ambitious/interactive” menu, the “take-out friendly” menu and finally the “comfort food”, eat in your sweatpants (very on trend for 2020) menu.  Here’s where your food travel could take you:

For the “ambitious/interactive” menu: Travel to Mexico with a Tamalada party.  Gather your team in the kitchen and get ready to make a bunch of Tamales. This is the perfect menu plan for those of you feeling extra energetic (or if you just need lots of “activity” to keep yourself awake until midnight like I do?!).  Of course, there should be margaritas, chips and guac as part of the plan too.

For the “Take-out friendly” menu:  Travel to Italy with pizza, antipasto, prosecco and post dinner Italian traditions.  Who doesn’t love pizza?

For the “comfort food” menu:  Travel to Japan and make Toshikoshi Soba, or year-end soba.  Keep your sweatpants on, order some take out sushi from your favorite Japanese restaurant and slurp noodles while you watch the ball drop!

At our house we are going to do an “Around the world” NYE and try all three menus in one action packed evening.  We might even add on a French desert component to end with French pastries and Champagne of course! 

The Mexican Tamalada Party Menu

Start a fun and interactive tradition for the whole family!  For many Mexican families, a tamalada (the Spanish word for “tamale party”) is synonymous with the holidays. It’s often a multiple generation event where everyone gathers around the kitchen to make a ridiculous amount of tamales.  We are ordering a tamale “kit” this year from Big Star Tacos in Chicago which includes everything you need.  We will only be making 20 tamales, so we can continue our traveling NYE feast!

Look for local tamale making kits or order one on Amazon, through Melissa’s or if your vegetarian check out this tamale kit.

How it works:

Give your guests a cold Mexican beer or margarita and assign them a duty in the tamale assembly line. The jobs include:

-Corn Husk Handlers: removes husk from water, dries and hands to the Masa Managers

-Masa Managers: spreads Masa onto each husk and hands to Assembly Crew

-Assembly Crew: adds a dollop of filling in the middle of masa, and folds the corn husks to create the tamale

While the tamales are steaming, break out the chips, salsa and guacamole (that can double as your extra tamale toppings).  For the kids, you can also make your own aguas frescas with a simple combination of fresh fruit, water, sugar, and ice.

At midnight (or earlier if you “fake” midnight!):

As the countdown to New Year’s Eve begins, Mexicans eat 12 grapes with each minute until the clock strikes 12 midnight. If the first grape is sweet, people believe the first month of the new year will be a good one while getting the sour one means a bad year. The 12 grapes represent the 12 months of the year and people also make a wish as they eat each grape for good luck, love, health and more.  

Happy tamale eating, or as they say in Mexico, Feliz Año! (Happy New Year in Spanish)

The Takeout Travel to Italy Menu

This one can be easy!  Italians usually eat cotechino con lenticchie (sausages and green lentils), at the stroke of midnight. The sausages, which are high in fat content and therefore symbolize abundance, are sliced to resemble coins as well, calling for financial wealth.  Lentils are considered to bring good luck in Italy for New Year’s because the tiny round legumes resemble coins.  If you love lentils, go for it! Or, take the easy road and order pizza from your favorite local place, serve Italian beer and pop open some prosecco to toast the New Year.  Maybe even a game or two of “prosecco pong”?!

There are some fun Italian NYE traditions you can incorporate into your evening to bring the authenticity and make it fun!

For dessert:

The traditional Italian NYE dinner concludes with dried fruit and grapes. According to tradition, having grapes present on the table during New Year’s ensures that those sitting at the table will be wise and frugal spenders of money. This is based on the idea that one must exercise significant willpower in order to conserve grapes taken from the grape harvest without eating them until New Year’s Eve.  A person with such willpower will surely be a wise and frugal spender in the coming year!

Out with the old:

To banish previous bad luck, particularly in southern Italy, there’s an attitude of out with the old and in with the new; however, this practice can be rather extreme, as old pots and pans, clothes or any old and unwanted items are thrown from upstairs windows. The act is seen to symbolize letting go of unhappiness in preparation for the future.

Wear red underwear:

In the days leading up to December 31st, every store and stand in Italy seems to be advertising red underwear. That is because wearing red undergarments is supposed to bring good luck in the new year. However, for the red underwear to be really lucky, it should only be worn on NYE. Throw it out the next day if you want to observe the older version of this Italian New Year’s tradition.

Arrivederci 2020! Felice Anno Nuovo! (Happy New Year in Italian)

The Japanese Toshikoshi Soba Menu

Grab some sushi to go, a bottle of sake to toast the New Year and make a big bowl of soba to have yourself a traditional Japanese NYE experience (sweatpants optional)!  

Toshikoshi soba, or year-end soba, is a dish of soba noodles in hot broth traditionally eaten on New Year’s Eve. It’s a simple, comforting meal usually eaten at home with family and friends.  There’s no set recipe for toshikoshi soba; therefore, everyone can add their own little twist to the dish.  We like to use this organic soba noodle. Some of our favorite toppings can include Shichimi Togarashi (Japanese chili pepper blend), Kamaboko (Japanese fish cake), thinly sliced green onion and Tempura shrimp.

Toshikoshi Soba is eaten on New Year’s Eve in the belief that eating long, thin noodles help you live a long and healthy life.  Buckwheat is also know to withstand harsh growing conditions, so the meal represents resilience for the new year ahead (if we don’t already have enough from experiencing 2020?!).  To ensure the luck of the noodles, they must be finished off before midnight!

If your really wanting the Japanese New Year experience (and to “earn” your soba!) do a household “deep clean”.  In Japanese culture, the new year must begin on a clean slate. As a result, Japanese people usually partake in something called oosouji, or "big cleaning." A lot of times, every inch of the household is cleaned, including places that remain untouched other times of the year. 

Akemashite omedetou gozaizasu! (Happy New Year in Japanese)

Wishing you comfort and joy no matter how you choose to end your 2020. We have many Taste Journey’s awaiting us in 2021.  Happy New Year!

-Julie